ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection) (93 page)

“Don’t move,” Karyn spoke in a low hush. The translucent form of the woman glided up to she and Killian. The woman seemed to look Karyn up and down. She then turned her attention to Killian. It was as if the ghost had never seen a vampire before. She examined Killian’s face closely, with a strange sense of longing in her face. Perhaps she wished she were alive again? Then, the ghost abruptly vanished.

“I saw something,” Karyn confessed.

“There was a rat,” Killian responded.

“No. It was a woman with short hair. She was some kind of ghost. She floated over to you and then she disappeared.” Killian looked perplexed. That was something new. He’d had plenty of encounters with the supernatural, but none like this. Something about the situation rubbed him the wrong way. Why had Karyn been the only one who had been able to see the woman?

They continued forward and the tunnel opened up into a small chamber. There was a strange kind of graffiti covering the walls, and the chamber was lit by a few candles. Someone had been in there recently.

“Homeless people maybe?” Killian suggested, trying to find an explanation for the candles. Karyn looked down. There was a small puddle of blood gathering by her left shoe. The blood seemed to be dripping down on the floor from somewhere above her.

Out of nowhere, there was a loud screeching sound as a bat flew down past Karyn’s face. Karyn looked up to where the bat had come from and pulled in a sharp breath. Above her, three vampires were hanging upside-down. One seemed to have fed recently, as blood was dripping out of his mouth and onto the floor. Wordlessly, Killian placed his index finger up to his lips to signal Karyn to be silent. The vampires seemed to be locked in some kind of slumber. Their eyes were closed, and they seemed totally unaware of Killian and Karyn’s presence. The blonde-haired vampire in the front reminded Karyn of a frozen corpse.

“Time to go,” Killian whispered. They silently retreated out into the complete darkness of the tunnel. Karyn felt her way along the sewer wall as they walked in complete silence, back towards St. Peter’s hospital. Karyn’s thoughts raced through her mind. For a second, she felt as though she was going completely mad. Something about the total darkness of the tunnel, combined with the horrors she had witnessed only days before seemed to bring Karyn to the brink of her emotional limitations.

As she ran her hand along the wall for guidance, she felt a sharp pain as something tore into the palm of her hand. Great, she thought to herself, a rusty nail was all she needed. Sensing that something might be wrong, Killian reached out and placed his heavy hand onto her shoulder. Immediately the smell of Karyn’s blood drifted up to him and he observed the small deep cut on her hand with his impeccable night-vision. A sound rang out behind them. The vampires had caught the scent. They were awake and they were coming.

Karyn could hear the heavy patter of the vampires’ feet as they rushed forward, screeching through the tunnels. There was no longer time for her to feel her way along the walls, so Killian simply grabbed her hand and pulled her along. His palm was unbelievably cold, but strong and muscular. Karyn knew he hadn’t meant to hurt her arm before, but she didn’t know if she could overcome the fact that he had caused her pain. She had felt enough of that in her lifetime.

The vampires were gaining on them. Suddenly a terrifying thought occurred to Karyn—she was the only human in the tunnel. Killian was a vampire too, albeit a good and reformed creature of the night, but a blood-drinker nonetheless. What if something triggered him like before? What if he lost control for more than just a split second this time? Suddenly she felt as if her ally had become her greatest enemy. For some reason she had the sudden fear that Killian might throw her to the vampires out of spite. Even in their panicked flight, Killian could sense a kind of hesitation in Karyn.

“I won’t let anything hurt you,” he said, “not even me.” Karyn tightened her grip on his hand, feeling reassured that she could trust him.

They were running at a break-neck pace now and Karyn’s heart was pounding in her chest. She almost screamed in relief when the crushing darkness of the tunnel opened up into the basement of the hospital. Nevertheless, Killian did not seem relieved. Killian knew what Karyn did not-- the vampires would stop at nothing now that they had the scent of her fresh blood. They were closer than she realized. Killian quickly picked Karyn up as if she weighed nothing and ran as fast as he could. When he reached the shower room and he set her down on the other side of the room’s divide, and pushed her inside, slamming the heavy door behind her. From his side, he locked the door.

Killian knew vampires like no one else could. He knew that the only way they would stop hunting Karyn now was if they were killed. If Killian was going to keep Karyn alive, he was going to have to face them and destroy them. Something in the back of his mind questioned why he was doing this. Now he was killing his own kind for the humans?

As the three vampires entered the room, they slowed, eyeing Killian up and down. The one with bleach blond hair took a step closer. “You must be the vamp we’ve been hearing so much about,” he cackled.

“You look like you ate a bad rat for dinner,” Killian shot back. The vampire hissed and the two others began to circle around him. Killian knew there was no way out this time. Jack had been right; Karyn was going to cause him trouble. Maybe he could give her enough time to get away and back to the safety of Department 99 though. That was the least he could do after completely ruining her life.

On the other side of the metal door, Karyn was screaming. She hadn’t realized what Killian was doing until it was too late. She tried with all her might to open the door, but it wouldn’t even budge. Killian was going to get killed trying to save her, and there was no way for her to help. Karyn screamed and pounded on the door until her hands were bruised and her voice was gone. In the midst of her fervor, something began to seep into her consciousness. It sounded like a whispered howl. Karyn turned, and there in front of her was the ghost she had seen before. Karyn was so weak and so frightened for Killian that it never even dawned on her to be afraid. The ghost floated around Karyn’s head and then slowly began to move off down the hall.

On impulse, Karyn followed the apparition. After a few moments of filtering out everything else in her mind, she began to hear strange voices and sounds that she hadn’t noticed before. It was like it had been back at Department 99 during the simulation. Everything was jumbled together, and she couldn’t seem to make sense out of any of the sounds around her. Karyn continued to follow the ghost down the narrow corridor as it twisted and turned. Karyn realized that this was not the way she had come in with Killian, and she vaguely wondered what would happen to her should she get lost down there. Then, she thought of Killian and the sacrifice he had made for her. If he could do that for her, the least she could do was try to save everyone else.

Tentatively Karyn pushed her thoughts out towards the ghost. “Do you have a name?”

The ghost swirled around Karyn’s head again and Karyn clearly heard the ghost’s reply. “My name is Samantha. I need your help.” Without knowing why, Karyn put out her hand, brushing the passing ghost with her fingertips. Immediately she fell to her knees, her mind being instantaneously overwhelmed with images. She saw Samantha out walking alone at night down a long street lined with trees. Out of the darkness in front of Samantha, stood a tall muscular man dressed in a black suit. His hair was slicked back and his eyes were a strange myriad of colors all shifting together like a rainbow. Samantha slowed in front of the man and was captured by his eyes.

Karyn watched helplessly as Samantha’s body was literally separated from her soul. Samantha’s body moved rigidly behind the man, while Samantha’s mind was contained in the form of this ghostly shape.

Karyn wiped at her face feeling the tears as they ran down her cheeks. It was an appalling violation. “Why?” Karyn asked without thinking.

Just as before, Karyn heard the ghost’s words being spoken directly into her mind. “He’s using my body as a conduit. Without my mind, he can control me in any way he chooses. He used my body to ring the bell. He’s using me to release the restraints on all the creatures from other worlds in order to destroy the human race. He wants to claim this world as his own. Right now, my body is in a room in this hospital. You have to find my body and destroy it.”

Karyn was horrified. “That will kill you, Samantha.”

The ghostly shape came closer and Karyn found the strength to stand again. Samantha’s voice rang in her head. “I would gladly sacrifice my life to save all of the other lives on this planet. I don’t know why you can see me, but you are the only one who can. You must do this, or we will all die.”

Karyn placed her hands on the wall to steady herself. Why was all of this happening to her? Once again, she heard Killian’s strong voice in her head. “You are a shadow-walker.” Karyn straightened. She knew what she had to do. “How is this man using your body? How is he controlling you?”

Samantha wavered in the air. “There is no more mind or soul in that body. He simply tells it what to do and the body does it.”

Karyn thought for a moment. “Is he with your body now?”

“No,” Samantha said. “He does not need to come anymore. He has a new link.”

Karyn began to move forward. “Show me where.”

Killian’s body was growing tired. He had been fighting off the three vampires for what seemed an eternity. He had taken one down early on in the fight, but had gained no ground since. The blond haired vamp lunged and Killian barely managed to get out of the way. He jumped into the air using the vamp as a springboard, vaulting himself across the room at the second vamp. Just as they were about to collide, Killian twisted his body in midair-- his legs scissoring around the vamp’s neck. If he hadn’t been so tired, it might have even worked. Killian was just a fraction of a second too slow, and the vamp had just enough time to counter.

Before Killian had realized his mistake, the vamp had turned his body into Killian’s and grabbed him by the throat. Killian wished silently to himself that he had told Karyn how much he cared for her, and now he would never get the chance. 

As Karyn rushed down the hall, she quickly formulated a plan. The halls twisted and turned endlessly and Karyn feared for every second the trip took. For all she knew, Killian might already be dead, but she could not give up hope. “Do you know what to do when we get there?” Karyn asked.

Samantha’s ghostly form slowed and her voice rang in Karyn’s mind. “In there.” Karyn wasted no time. She rushed headlong into the room, where Samantha’s robot body was sitting on the floor chanting. It seemed that Samantha was repeating the same words over and over again.

Karyn quickly ran to the body and knelt in front of it. Instinctively, Karyn laid her hand against the side of the body’s head and pushed her own thoughts forward. “Stop chanting,” she commanded. Immediately the body in front of her stopped speaking. Karyn resisted the urge to squeal with joy. It had actually worked. Now for the hard part. Again, instinctively Karyn slipped her thoughts into the soulless body. Somewhere in the fringes of space, Karyn could sense the man who had commanded poor Samantha’s physical form. Without hesitation, Karyn followed his essence. Karyn felt a shock as his mind recognized her invasion. She could feel the panic, as his mind tried to pull away from her, but couldn’t. Karyn was holding on too tight.

She sent her thoughts out in one long powerful stream. “I know where you are and I know what you are doing. I will stop you. You will never again be able to dominate another living soul.”

Karyn pushed her mind out quickly. This time, like a whip she struck at the man’s mind again. Karyn reached her hand out within her mind, and found what she was looking for on the other side-- his optic nerves. In one quick motion she placed an immovable shadow over them, completely blinding the man, and immobilizing his powers. She could feel the man flailing around in darkness, struggling against her power—but it was too late.

Karyn pulled her thoughts back and reached out once again; this time she was searching for someone else. “Are you there yet, Sam?”

The voice came back loud and clear. “Yes, he’s right in front of me.”

Karyn pulled every ounce of strength she had. Here goes nothing. “Jack, follow me!”

One moment, Jack was sitting at his desk thinking about Chinese food and the next moment he was staring in horror at some wispy image of what looked like Karyn-- only she wasn’t solid. Jack jumped out of his seat, stubbing his toe in the process. “What the hell?”

Karyn could feel herself tiring. She had to hold on. “No time, Jack. St. Peter’s hospital. Killian hurt. Bring everyone.” There was no more time. Karyn hoped she had saved enough strength to get back. She was using her energy to give Samantha’s ghost a voice and enough form for Jack to see it. It was taking all of her life energy to do this.

As soon as Jack started moving, Karyn felt Samantha flying back. Now she had to get to Killian. Karyn couldn’t get through the steel door, but Samantha could. If Karyn could just hold on, maybe she could save Killian.

Killian was about to die. For the first time, he truly tasted fear of mortality. Vampires were not supposed to die. Fearing death was not a part of their species. Yet, here he was, only moments away from the certain end of his long life. He had spent most of his life working to take lives, and now here he was dying, trying in vain to save someone else. The vampire behind him cackled, and his hands clamped down against the back of Killian’s throat. The blond haired vamp stood in front of him, his foot against the front of Killian’s throat. It was the way of vampires to die by decapitation when deemed necessary. Killian had been on the other side of this ritual many times before. Somehow, he never thought it would end like this for him.